This book is queer joy and sapphic love, along with some character building and growth. This book is about Max, who you would have met in For Her Consideration if you read that book (also great). She, like many people, is unsatisfied with her career progression and trying to get ahead. She's also trying to get the girl, in a way.

You'll recognize familiar names and faces from the previous book as well.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, and honestly? Loved it.

My Thoughts:

This is the standalone sequel to Spalding’s For Her Consideration and is a delightful novel about Max, who wants to graduate from being an assistant to a Talent Agent in LA to a Junior Talent Agent, her problem? She’s not great at asking for what she wants, in work and in her personal life. Her roommate who is an influencer gets her involved in the testing of an app which is to help people self-actualize by completing challenges, which are then shared on social media.

I cringed at the influencer portion of the plot at first but in actuality I ended up kind of loving that part of it, especially the honesty regarding it that came later.

There was a lot of great talk about confidence, and believe in yourself, being who you are without reservations or apologies which really spoke to me. I am one of those people who apologizes basically for my existence so this was nice to see.

It was at times really dramatic, but I loved the drama of it, though I was able to pinpoint where the big drama spot would come from early on.

In the end though, this felt like a story about queer love and joy, something we need now more than ever.

Hilariously, someone also assumed Max was Canadian because she was so polite, and I'm beginning to think I need to change up my bar scene (as if I go out.)

Favourite Quotes:

“Well, sure, it’s a real plot twist,” I said, and we both laughed in that way only people with dead parents could, the laugh that came from the darkest grief and all the healing that came after.”

Amy Spalding is very quickly becoming an absolute comfort author. I loved loved loved For Her Consideration and At Her Service was just as lovely and as swoony and as fun to read! I fell in love with Max in book one, even though we didn't get to know her enough. Even more wonderful, that we got to read her own story line. The take on the app was so fresh and interesting and it was wonderful to see Max figure out her life and herself. Gorgeous, gorgeous book that I will recommend with my last breath!

I enjoyed At Her Service; it's a light-hearted and readable story about a young lesbian assistant navigating the glamorous but absurd entertainment industry, and she's portrayed with humour and heart. It's relatable and engaging and I don't think we'll ever have enough cheerful books about lesbian love.

However, some of the contemporary elements feel overdone and risk alienating readers. The frequent references to trendy apps, memes, and niche pop culture moments come across as trying too hard to be modern, which is a really common trope in contemporary fiction but never gets much easier to read. Internet culture moves too fast and if a reference will feel outdated in 2030 I don't think it needs to be there!

Overall, At Her Service is a fun read for those who enjoy feel-good romances and the world of Hollywood, but some may wish for a more timeless approach.

Overall I thought the writing was decent, however, I couldn't finish it because I didn't feel a connection between the main characters and the story felt like it was moving too slowly. It just seemed a bit flat, nothing really excited me while reading.

4.5 stars. This was such an enjoyable read. Obviously the romance was great, but all the other aspects were amazing too. I loved watching Max build a community.

I love a slow burn romance, and this was a good one. It's a very realistic story, and one I will recommend a lot.

I'm definitely going to reread this, and pick up the other book in this series.

(sorry for the delay, Ive been unwell this year)

This is a cute sapphic romance. I adore Amy Spauldings style and look forward to in this world. I feel like I know the whole gang and I want to see them all living their best life.

The concept of this really caught my attention and I ended up loving it! I read For Her Consideration and adored that one, so I knew I would be into this one. It was such an emotional ride about not being afraid to go for what you want, making changes if necessary, and expressing yourself in whatever ways needed. I loved it!

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for providing me this Digital Advanced Readers Copy of the book!

This is a slow burn Sapphic about Max, an assistant for a high powered Hollywood agent and her local bartender, Sadie. Max reluctantly gets roped into helping her social media influencer roommate with a self-actualization program. The program helps Max to build her community, ask to level up at work and ask out the girl of her dreams.

Overall, this book was fine. It had interesting parts but it also felt like it drug on at times. I really honestly don’t have much to say about it. Overall, not my favorite. 3/5 stars

I adored this one!

Max was such a fun main character to follow. Her character jumped off the page and it made for such an lovely read

Max's journey to self actualisation was chaotic, fun, and occasionally face-palm worthy, but aren't we all like that.

It was also nice seeing Nina and Ari pop up in this one, too. They were cute as heck.

I just had a really good time reading this one.

cuteeeeeeeeeeeee loved the vibes loved ethe plot LOVED the message A+++++++++++ thanks for the arc !!!!!!!!

Another great book by Amy Spalding!

This one following Max, who we briefly met in For Her Consideration as Nina's colleague, and Sadie, the hot bartender at Max's favourite bar.

I will admit that this one took me a little longer to get into than For Her Consideration. Nina was relatable to me in a "I must devour this to see her HEA", Max was relatable to me on a frustrating way. Like everything I do/did that I find frustrating is what Max was like. So whilst I did want to leap into my kindle and scream at Max "you do have friends!!!! Open your eyes not your overthinking brain" I also wanted to leap in there and give her a huge platonic cuddle and beer. It would have to be to a different tv show than Frasier though, sorry Max.

Sadie was fun and so similar but so opposite to Max. So self assured but so insecure. So outgoing but also so nervous. I really enjoy characters who have these personality differences within themselves portrayed in such a smooth and real way.

I really enjoyed their story together as well. Their friendship, their banter, their awkwardness with each other, their third act moment, it all felt so natural and real.

I loved the side characters too, and how they interact with each other. I wish I had a Johnny's to go to with friends!

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

I was excited to try out a book by Amy Spalding. I did not realize that this comes from the same world as For Your Consideration, which I own but have not yet read. While this book is a lovely sapphic read, I felt it centered more on the main character's career and less on the relationship. I was looking for more of a romance than a self-discovery journey, but I enjoyed the read nonetheless.

At her service was a cute sapphic romcom. Standard in the plot of a contemporary romance novel, but focusing light on important issues and events that have impacted the LGBTQIA+ community for decades. This story gives a new twist on a “coming of age” story, but the characters are late twenty’s and the coming of age is self-actualisation & confidence building. Our FMC goes through it while trying to improve her life, and I think the story is written well in the sense that it is relatable - who isn’t trying to figure themselves out, build their confidence and learn to just say yes? I did think their was a lot of big brand name dropping throughout, which personally I find a bit icky in a story - but it wasn’t so often on the same page that it turned me off the book. I did love the little homage to Mean Girls towards the end though. Ultimately I enjoyed this novel and I’m sure many other readers will too.

This was a decent love story.
My first book by this author, I didn't realize it was part of a series.
I felt a slump coming on while reading when the beginning felt like it was supposed to be a quick read for me.. it didn't give me much wow factor, like, everything seemed to be expected.
I found myself a little annoyed with the insecurities of the character.
It just wasn't my cup of tea.
But thank you for the free arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was so wholesome and cute, I really enjoyed it, I’d have loved to see a Sadie POV personally.

‘That was what most of life felt like, when I thought about it: everyone else moving through it naturally while I was in a wild panic just to keep up.’ This was so relatable, I felt it so much

I really liked the first book in this series but this one fell flat for me. The voice of the Mc was very relatable and I liked her internal monologues. But I didn’t feel like there was any connection between the MC and the other characters. She didn’t seem to have real friends and the different dates and love interests just didn’t ever seem interesting.
There’s so much conversation and telling instead of showing it was hard to get into the storyline.

I would not categorize this book as romance.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley, for the opportunity to receive an eArc in exchange for an honest review

While the romance in At Her Service is a part of the storyline, there is also so much about friendship, finding yourself, navigating confrontation, and reflecting.

We get to know Max, who in the midst of trying to find themselves and figure out how to progress in their otherwise stalling career, is also living with an active and successful influence- Chelsey.

Max is given an opportunity through Chelsey’s content creation to try out a new service that boasts success, personally and professionally. Max at first begrudgingly agrees- feeling hesitant but also stuck both personally and professionally, the experience seems somewhat like a - what could possibly go wrong and I have nothing to loose- type situation.

As Max begins to go through the motions they begin to see changes, positive changes, they are given opportunities at work, their feeling more motivated to be physically active, and they are also having a blossoming relationship with Sadie- the neighborhood bartender.

I enjoyed getting to know Sadie- I would have loved to get her know her even better but I did love the sub plot in getting to know the history of the bar, Sadie’s family, and her goals to own the bar.

So as Max is fully immersed in this “glow up” she is also falling for Sadie though Sadie has no idea that Max is in the midst of this social media blitz.

So when a video is leaked and Sadie learns that their budding relationship very well could be just a pawn in the game of life, we dive deep into the plot twist where Max has to confront their intentions and regain Sadie’s trust.

Through it all I found myself rooting for them- for Max, for Sadie, for the bar, and for their relationship.

My growing distaste for being present on the internet did not falter.

I enjoyed the outcome in seeing Max and Sadie reconnect and I equally enjoyed seeing how the bar came into it’s next chapter.

This was a super relatable read and once again Amy Spalding doesn’t miss!

4 gooses
1.5 spicy peppers

This book is a single POV following Max, who is an assistant at a Hollywood agency and she loves her job, but she also wants to move up to being a Junior Agent. She's also "in love" with her bartender, Sadie. Unfortunately for Max, she can't seem to get people to take her seriously and she really does want that to stop. This results in her agreeing to her influencer roommate, Chelsey's sponsorship plan to promote an app that will help her become more self-actualized.

What I liked about this book was the self-actualization piece. I loved that Max is such a person of routine and comfort, while yearning for something more, and how this journey with the app makes her push herself out of her comfort zone, which results in her really starting to see some significant changes. What I didn't love about this book was also related to the self-actualization piece. One of the things that is the message of this book is that sometimes you get caught up on something that isn't actually what you want in life, but when you focus so much of your energy toward that thing, it can be hard to let it go. I think, for me, this book both really hit in a way that made me feel seen in a way I didn't want to be, but also, at times wound up being very frustrating.

Basically, this book is messy. The romance is definitely at the forefront even while this is a single POV book which is about self-actualizing. I really do like Amy Spalding's writing and I look forward to reading more from her in the future.